Aeroplane



M. PETERSEN.

AEROPLA'NE. APPLICATIGNFILED OCT. 2l. 1918.

@Moana/13 wifi/vm M. PETERSEN.

AEROPLANE. APPLICATION FILED 0CT.2I, i918 Patented Aug. 24, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

MARINUS PETERSEN, QF KENMARE, NORTH DAKOTA.

l AEROPLANE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October `21, 1918. Serial No. 259,147.

To all 'whom imag concern.'

Be it known that I, MARINUS PE'rnRsEN, a citizen of the United States, residin at Kenmare, in the county of Ward and tate of North Dakota, have invented new and useful Improvements in Aeroplanes, of which .the following is a specification.

The object of the invention is to provide direction and position controlling elements for use in connection with aircraft of the aeroplane type which shall serve to increase the stability of the machine and facilitate the restoring of the same when disturbed either through adverse or confusing air current or by reason of errors due to carelessness or miscalculation in manipulation, and also to provide means for increasing the quickness, abruptness and range of evolu-A tions 4of a craft ofthis type without essentially modifying theo principles of construction which have been approved and put to practical use 4and also without essentially l modifying the method of control which has to relativey tive increase of resistance to forward been adopted' and -put into practice by, andv has become familiar to many hundreds of flying machine operators. y

With these objects mainly in view, the invention consists essentially in providing the sustaining plane of the machine, representing the wings, with ailerons which are adapted for deflection under the control of the pilot to produce a variabledynaIn-ic re-V sistance to progress in a given direction, as for example parallel with the longitudinal axis*` of the fuselage. This resistance as to the ailerons at opposite sides of the axis of the machine, or as carried by the respective wings, .is relative, or in varying ratios so as modify the dynamic lifting forces or e ect of the wings as well as the relative resistances to forward progress or in the direction of the longitudinal axis.

. The invention also consists vin providing a sustaining wing construction wherein provision is made for diminishing the sustaining effect of the wing which is toward the center of a curve or turn which 'is to .be eected by the machine, and wherein'a relarogress is applied to the inner wing relatlve to the center of such turning movement; in` providing means vwhereby the ositive depressing effect due to what may termed a.

'reverse or counter angle of incidence is applied to the inner wing in thecourse of turnl ing or describing a curved course 5. and 1n providing a rudder or steering blade having a maxlmum eficiency in determining the transverse or lateral direction of progresswhen the machine is tilted or inclined laterally on its longitudinal axis as a center as in banking to follow a curved course or in describing a spiral whether in' ascending or descending.

Further objects and advantages will appear hereinafter, and the invention consists A moreover in a construction, combination and Figs. 5 and 5zi are plan and front views shown diagrammatically, of a machine mak ing a turn or change of courseto the right of the operator.

Figs. 6 and 6a are rear views of a machine moving from a side sliding yposition to a position of equilibrium and indicating the setting of the ailerons to accomplish their purpose.

Figs. 7 and `7 are views of a machine as seen respectively' in a t'ail slide anda header,

and including indications by darts as to the direction of movement as the machine is righted by the actionv of the ailerons.

In the illustration of the invention a machine of the bi-plane type has been selected, the upper and lower main sustaining planes 10 and-11 being of the ordinary form, area, construction and relative location, 12 repre senting the fuselage, 13 the propeller of preferred t pe, 14 the rear or tail plane 15 the rud er or steering blade.

.The main (upper) formed by the upper 'main sustainin plane are provided with ailerons 16 and 1 while the rearor tail plane is provided with corresponding ailerons 18 and 19. Each of these ailerons is adapted to normally occupy sustaining wings Patented Aug. 24C, 1920.

a position in the plane of and constitute an 'l @new 91' .we-hielen@ @t the wmg by which it is carried, said ailerons being howlever connected with the body portion of the wings for deflection from the planes thereof on lines which converge rearwardly A the wing of which it forms a member with i wing the incident tendency to permit that wing to drop or become depressed if the correspending aileron at the opposite side of the machine or carried by th'e companion wing is permitted to retain its normal or extended position in the plane of its wing or the body portion of the wing of which it forms a member, and second-the production of a Adownward and rearward counter or reverse resistance due to the pressure of the air upon the upper or inner surface of the upwardly deflected aileron which will tendl not only to depress the connected wing of the craft but to retard its progress and thus facilitate the turning of the machine from its previous direct forward course toward that side upon which the aileron has been deflected or adjusted. For example, the upward deflection of the aileron 17 as indicated in Figs. 5 and 5EL will have the effect of -retarding the forward progress of the righthand wing of the craft and of depressing said right-hand wing so as to give the machine the tilt or bank necessary to describe a more or less abruptly curved path or turn to the right of the operator as shown by the dotted lines in said figures, the retarding effect or rearward pressure serving to impede the forward progress of the right-hand being of advantage owing to the fact that the latter in making such a turn has less distance to travel than the outer wing of which the aileron has been permitted to retain its normal position. Obviously the above effect will be' accentuated by a corresponding adjustment with'reference to the right-hand aileron of the rear or tail plane, and the corresponding movement of the rudder or steering blade as shown in Fig. 5

will have a coperative action to the same end.

may have a practically uniform effect in guiding or directing the machine whether the latter is on an even keel or is inclined or rolled transversely as in making a turn or describing a curved path, it is preferably mounted or hinged on an obliqueline upwardly and rearwardly as shown at 20, a

suitable angle for the line or axis of the hinge being approximately 45 degrees.

An important advantage of the arrangementA described resides in the stabilizing effect which may be secured should the machine be tilted or banked excessively so as to assume a position for example such as show n in Fig. G. The upward deflection of -all of the ailerons or of the ailerons at both sides of the machine as shown in said figure, accompanied preferably by the straightening of the rudder or the arrangement thereof in its longitudinal or normal position, whether the engine continues to operate or not, but equally as promptly if the propeller is'not 'in motion, will cause the machine to swing or rock. This will be better understood when it is stated that by reason of the angles of incidence assumed by the ailerons from the position indicated in Fig. G in the direction indicated by the darts to the position of stability ,indicated in Fig. (3, and correspondingly an adjustment either downward or upward of the ailerons when the machine is in a tail slide as shown in F1g. 7 or describing a header as shown in Fig. TfL will result in bringing the same to a normal or horizontal position on` an even keel. Thus regardless of the position of the Inachine which may be encountered by an operator, the simultaneous deflection of the `ailerons positioned as described will result in restoring the same to a normal position. This is due to what may be regarded as a compound angle of incidence produced by the deflection of the ailerons from the normal planes of the wings on lines which are diagonally disposed and which converge tovward the tail end of the machine so as to exert simultaneously both longitudinal and transverse pressures or resistances.

It is desirable as above indicated to provide means for operating the ailerons and rudder or steering blade whereby either independent or joint adjustment thereof may be effected and while various forms of such connections may-be employed it will be sufficient for the present purposes to suggest that the post 21 of the steering wheel 22 may be pivoted as at 23, and arranged at an intermediate point in a suitable guide 24, a crank 25 rbeing arranged in operative relation with a bell crank lever 26 or its equivalent connected by lines 27 and 28 with the rudder, while similar lines A29 and 30 are related with the steering or hand wheel so `lthat by the turning movement of the lat- In order that the rudder or steering blade ter in one direction or the other, one or the other of the main wing ailerons is deflected upwardly from its normal position while a corresponding deflection of the rudder or steering blade to the same side of the axis of the machine is produced, said ailerons beingyieldingly, held in their normal positions, in opposition to the strain which may be applied thereto through thelines 29 and 30, by lines 31 and 32 havingresistance springs 33. The tail plane ailerons` may correspondingly be adjusted by means of pedals 34 and 35 connected respectively with said ailerons by lines 36 and 37. When it is desired to deflect the ailerons of both plane wings upwardly aswhen a side slide is imminent or has begun, the downward` movement of the steering wheel about its pivotal axis 23 will' secure the desired object and result in the righting of the machine as explained with reference to Figs. V6 and 6a of the drawing.: Thisbodily downward movement of the steering wheel will result in bringing the rudder or steering blade to a. central or normal position by reason of the effect of the crank 25 upon the bell crank lever 26.

It will be understood, moreover, that the ailerons of the tail plane serve the usual function and purpose of elevators or elevating means, both being deflected upwardly,

eitherequally or relatively in that connec tion, according to whether the ascent is to be pursued in'a straightaway course or spirally,

'It will further .Abe apparent from the foregoing that the hinging of the rudder `15 to by 20,' constitutes an important feature of my invention, inasmuch as whenthemachineJ is-turnling and banking, and irrespective of the sharpness of the turning or the leaning of'the machine, the

rudder will alwys'stand plumb. From this it follows that under no conditions will the rudder of my improvement act as anelevator-vl e., it will not lean upwardl or downwardly when the machine is in flight;

Having described the invention what is claimed is 4 1. An aeroplane having its sustainingV and tail wings provided with ailerons mounted for deflection upon diagonal lines convergent rearwardl of the machine, a rudder mounted for Y ateral deflection upon a line extending upwardly and rearwardly of the axis of the machine, and means for effecting adjustment of said ailerons and rudder. i l2. In an aeroplane, a rudder mounted for lateral deflection upon aline extending upwardly and rearwardly of the axis ofthe machine and having lateral wings and ailerons thereon in combination with a sustaining wing provided with ailerons mounted for deflection upon diagonal lines convergent rearwardly of the machine, means to effect deflection of a sustaining-wing aileron simultaneously with the deiiection of the rudder-wing aileron at the corresponding side ofthe axis of the machine, and

means to eifect deflection of the other susthe fuselage on an angle of approximately '45 degrees, as indicate tainingwing aileron simultaneously with the deflection of the rudder-wing aileron at the opposite side of said axis.

In testimony whereof I afix my signature.

MARINUS rirmisnnV 

